RECENT DAYS have brought with them some truly disheartening news concerning the battle against impaired driving.

First there was the Toronto Star article disclosing the fact that far too large a share of the public’s donations to Mothers Against Drunk Driving was going into administration, much of it being used to pay professional telemarketers.

Although there was no suggestion that local MADD chapters were siphoning off their revenues in a similar manner, we suspect that the news and the resultant interruption in MADD’s national fundraising will have a negative effect on this important campaign, at a time of year when a heightened public awareness of the problem is particularly important.

Then we received what might be seen as a “good news, bad news” press release from the OPP’s Caledon detachment.

The good news was that, after its first two weeks’ operation, the seasonal R.I.D.E. (Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere) program in Caledon produced nearly 5,700 spot checks but only three charges of impaired driving.

The bad news was that last Thursday, Caledon OPP officers charged another three drivers with impaired driving. All were males in their fifties!

It really makes one wonder whether the message will ever get through that drunk driving isn’t funny, or a mere misdemeanor. It’s criminal and all too often a cause of homicides that still doesn’t get the punishment it deserves.